Some of the new digs

I know a couple of you have been asking to see the house, sorry I've been such a slacker! 

I've been slow to take pictures because I'm always waiting to get the next thing done, but I guess it will never really be done. 

So for now I will show some pictures of the kitchen/living room. 

Here is looking from the kitchen into the living room....

This is the foyer area, and that opening to the left is the kitchen. This area still needs a rug and a new light.

But I like what's been done so far.

 I got this sweet print from Etsy.

Kitchen to the right.

And new desk in the kitchen. Most of my walls in the kitchen still need stuff, and eventually we will do a backsplash, etc.

But my favorite...

Our table that I had refinished.

Table before....

I really love how it turned out.

And also one of my favorite things in my kitchen is a handwritten recipe of my Grandmothers.

Our living room is much different than what we had before. New couches in the living room, new end table, and new coffee table that opens and has tons of storage! Since we've been married we've never had new couches, so it was about time.

New curtains...These were a stretch for me, but I love them now.

 I'm pleased with how it's turning out.

But Paul's baby of this house??

The new TV and stand. Let's just pray that we don't have an incident like that one long ago.....

But anyways, I'm loving it. 

Every night when I plop myself down on the couch, I just take it all in and smile. This is home.

Next time I will share pictures of the bedrooms and the pergola! 

Yes we celebrated the fourth

It's practically Labor Day, and I'm just starting to think about talking about Fourth of July. SLACKER. 

But yes, we did celebrate the Fourth. 

Paul went and bought some fireworks and we just hung out in the new hood and lit em' up.

Our neighborhood actually put on a really good show

So here are some low-quality cell phone pictures to prove it.

The whole day was pretty low key, and sometimes that is just lovely.

But the best part was that Paul's parents were here to celebrate with us.

It's always fun to share your memories with family.

And it was a great week with them. Our visits don't come nearly often enough so when we are together we soak up our time together.

Until next visit, and next holiday...

I hope they remember

Maybe because we moved this summer, but this summer break has flown by. I'm back to work in two weeks, so mentally for me the summer is finished. (And yes I know I need to show pictures of the house, I promise to do that soon!) But the move has definitely consumed us. First it's the actual unpacking, then it's trying to settle in, then decorating and hanging stuff, and then in any spare time it's looking up cute ideas on the internet. I'm sort of obsessed. I need to go back to work so I quit spending money. 

But back to our break. 

The kids are all about swimming with friends. 

But you know who else they want to swim with them?

ME.

They always ask me, "mom you gonna get in today? And actually get your hair wet?" And then I generally just stare at them. You know for us moms it's like a whole ordeal. Did I shave? Will I need to re-wash my hair? Is the water so cold I will scream like a little baby? ORDEAL I SAY.

But then you get on Facebook or something and read all these articles about how we need to get over ourselves and actually PLAY in the water with our kids. OY FACEBOOK, QUIT MAKING ME FEEL GUILTY.

While I may be content to sit outside the pool with a friend, I do at times decide to actually get in and play.

And what better way to go in.

I hope they remember.

I hope they remember the times I said YES to playing.

All in, goggles on, games played, just like one of them.

I know I will remember these days.

 I watch them over and over show me their tricks.

And yes, at times join them in the fun.

I know I will always remember, I hope they do too.

The badminton set

Our firstborn. 

He's a determined soul of a person. When he sets his mind to something he digs in deep and gives it his all. Whether it's grades, sports, chores, or even money. 

It was the beginning of May that he decided, I'm gonna save my money for a badminton set!

I was like really?

Yes, badminton.

So for two months he saved every penny. When his sister would be off spending money on trinkets, he would just sit back and say, "I'm saving."

By the time we went to Indiana he had around $45 dollars saved, and he was ready to make a purchase. That's another thing about Pierce, a purchase is usually a slow process. He looks and looks, and really tries to make the best decision he can. Sometimes it's quite painful, but I try and appreciate it and just shut my mouth.

It was the day we decided to go shop for the set, "it's time to go, go grab your wallet."

For some reason he couldn't find it. We had several days left, so I said don't worry about it we will find it later and maybe go tomorrow?

But later kept turning into later, and then it dawned on me, his wallet was lost.

We searched that house high and low. We turned clothes inside out, dug through bags of trash, I had my parents searching, my sister searched, and I just got a sinking feeling it was gone. I knew that we could get the money back to Pierce, but his heart was broken. He had worked hard for that money, and it was something he was proud of. It was more than just the money.

The family had been at the house the day before the wallet went missing, so I took to the text in an effort to find that wallet.....

Then I had a tip....

Cody had last seen it. It was a real life tip, and he told me to check with Jaclyn.

 I felt like a needed to develop a lost wallet hot line.

Between all this looking and texting Pierce let me know he had no plans of ever saving his money again. "What's the point? All that work for nothing! I'm just going to spend my money the moment I get it from now on."

Of course I gave him a big pep-talk about that attitude, but I got it. He was just frustrated and mad.

But around 8 hours later on that Monday, I saw this wonderful message....

The wallet had been found. Glory be. Pierce was asleep when I found out, so I had to wait till the next day to tell him the good news. Oh, and because his grandparents felt sorry for him they gave him  the money before the wallet had been found, so that stinker made off with LOTS of money by the end of the trip.


We came back home with all that money, and then it was finally time to go buy buy that blessed badminton set.

The work, the saving, the anguish of what was thought lost. It all ended here.

Now it's all set up and he's playing daily. ALONG WITH THE REST OF US, IN THE 98 DEGREE TEMPS.

Oh and once he finally bought it, he decided to go on and blow the rest of his money on water guns. Ha!

So what's next?

More family badminton games, and a new quest to save money to buy Nerf guns. HELP US ALL.